Bordeaux

Looking at a cruise that has an overnight in Bordeaux. Anyone know what one can do/see after dinner in that area?

Looking at a cruise that has an overnight in Bordeaux. Anyone know what one can do/see after dinner in that area?

Siverseas may do it as they have in the past,but not sure now,Also check Seabourne or another small cruiseline. they used to dock right in town.It is nice just to walk around Bordeaux after sunset...all the little streets become outdoor dining rooms for the small restos it seems,and there are a lot of them. I love Bordeaux.

Hi Karen ~ we'll be in Bordeaux during a River Cruise in early October. Can you recommend and restaurants, especially near the Quai des Chartrons??

Any other hints you can give us about the city will be greatly appreciated by many!! This is a new itinerary for Viking so no past passengers to share info with us!!!

Thanks much!!

Hi Karen ~ we'll be in Bordeaux during a River Cruise in early October. Can you recommend and restaurants, especially near the Quai des Chartrons??

 

Any other hints you can give us about the city will be greatly appreciated by many!! This is a new itinerary for Viking so no past passengers to share info with us!!!

 

Thanks much!!

There is some info here on B if you do a search.I have been there on 2 cruises and a week before a cruise (while they were building the city train and the hottest summer ever as well in a hotel with no AC...it was Wine Week too) Anyway, I digress..we have eaten in many restos there whose names I did not keep as we look at the menu's and the decide or look to if crowded by locals and then we eat.All you have to do is wander.It is a great little town.I don't know if you have the time to go to St. Emillion which is pure French wine country,but it is a great little side trip to take.Stop in the Tourist Bureau as well as they are really great and a wealth of info for the region.The Wine Museum was interesting as well. You should not a any problem finding a resto in the area of Q.Charton...like I said look at the menu's and go for what pleases you. Enjoy

St. Emillion is a an option for day 1. With an overnight, what do you suggest for day 2?

We actually did an overnight in Bordeaux while on the Prinsendam. Having been to that part of France several times on lengthy self-driving trips we had looked forward to returning. The small cruise ships are able to cruise all the way up the Garonne River (some might call this the Bordeaux River) and dock in downtown Bordeaux adjacent to the riverfront park. From our docking location we had great access to the city (you could walk a few yards to the street and use public transit). As is our normal practice, DW and I picked up a rental car and took off for the wine country (of which St Emillion is the heart). That evening we dined at a local restaurant in the downtown area (near the river) which has many restaurants, bars, and some night life. Since we are Oenophiles, we could be in Bordeaux for a week and never get bored. Our days would be spent in several different sub-regions of that great wine area where we would visit various wineries. If you go on your own you might want to consider that some of the best known wineries (like Chateau Mouton Rothchild) requires advance reservations for a visit and tour.

Hank

St. Emillion is a an option for day 1. With an overnight, what do you suggest for day 2?

Well, I worte what I thought was a nice little piece of what to do then hit the wrong button and deleted it...I just saw it was not posted...been one of those days I guess. In short what I said was to explore Bordeaux as it is a neat little city,great little places to grab lunch and the Wine Museum is very interesting. the week I spent there was mostly going to wineries as DH was collecting back then,I really liked exploring Bordeaux itself when I got the chance.Having been there several times there was always something to see and I thought the people were really nice as well.Going to ost and hit the right button.What Hank said is good as well.

This year's overnight by the Prinsendam presents some minor problems. On day 1 we arrive at 11:00 AM on a Sunday, day 2 we leave at 9:45 AM. So while an overnight, we really do not have time to do anything on day 2. At least we will have time to stroll in the evening

This year's overnight by the Prinsendam presents some minor problems. On day 1 we arrive at 11:00 AM on a Sunday, day 2 we leave at 9:45 AM. So while an overnight, we really do not have time to do anything on day 2. At least we will have time to stroll in the evening

That is a real bummer. You still could do to St Emilion on a Sunday afternoon. We have never been there on a Sunday, but suspect that some of the tasting rooms will be open. There are also some wineries that are open for visitors on Sundays, but, if going on your own you need to do some research to avoid those places that are closed. Of course if you decide to take a private (or cruise ship) excursion the guide will know where to go.

As to dinner, there are plenty of restaurants open on Sunday night. And by the way, when we cruised up the river on the Prinsendam it was very interesting how we picked-up our pilot. He was flown out to our ship on a helicopter (before we entered the river). The Captain closed the Crows Nest (for safety reasons) and they had the crew firefighting team all dressed out in their bunker gear at the ready with hoses. The pilot was dropped onto the bow by a cable hoist. They repeated the entire process, in reverse, after we departed Bordeaux.

Hank

The cruise we are looking at arrives at 9am on day 1 and leaves at 8pm on day 2. Gives us two full days.

Looking at a cruise that has an overnight in Bordeaux. Anyone know what one can do/see after dinner in that area?

Check out Celebrity Infinity they have three sail dates in the fall with overnights in LeHavre (Paris ) and Bordeaux.

Sept. 7, 19, and Oct. 1

Just noticed the "after dinner question." Bordeaux is a relatively large city where there is a pretty active nighttime scene. One popular neighborhood is along the Quai du Paludate just south of the train station. There are some areas further north that also have plenty of restaurants, bars, clubs, etc. When we visit this city (and we are Seniors) we will normally dine somewhere down in this part of town (some call it the dock area) and enjoy a good French meal. Since most folks like to dine later in urban France (generally no earlier then 8:30) our dinner becomes most of our evening activity. But, after dinner, we will sometimes stop at an interesting café/bar (especially if we hear good music) for a nightcap.

For the younger crowd this city also has more then it's share of late night clubs.

Hank

We also stayed overnight on the Prinsendam last fall but we arrived at 9:00 and left at 4:00 on day two so we had more time. We did a walking tour (let me know, I can send you the map) which takes in most of the old city. Day two we arranged a winery tour. One item to note, it was IMPOSSIBLE to find a taxi to get to the restaurant we had made reservations the first night. In all our years of cruising we had never seen that one before. No taxis out front, no taxi stands anywhere to be found and we even tried to call some that we found on the internet without luck :mad:.

Kirk raises a good point....that being taxis in France. We have previously posted a few warnings/comments about French taxis and perhaps it needs to be repeated. French taxi drivers march to their own drum (this is being diplomatic) when it comes to their working hours and how hard they want to work. This means if you need a taxi, and it happens to be when a lot of the drivers are sitting in a café having their café au lait, you will be out of luck. Personally, when we are in France, we try not to put ourselves in situations where we must absolutely depend on getting a taxi (except in Paris where they can usually be found). We could fill several paragraphs with French taxi tales but nothing we could say would surprise even the French who are well aware of the problem. The irony is that we have never had a French taxi driver try to rip us off once they show up and agree to take our business :).

Hank

We were on Celebrity last year. We were quite a ways from Bordeaux. Bogdan Ghita picked us up at the port and drove us all around for two days. We elected to stay in Bordeaux rather than going back to the ship. Don't miss St Emillion. The town is beautiful. We were there in Oct and they were picking grapes. Two of our tastings were at classified Bordeaux's. We had 8 people who met via Cruise Critic. His van was very roomy.

We were there overnight on Seabourn two years ago and are going back this Sept as part of a 22 day cruise from London to Monte Carlo. Most ships will overnight for a day and a half rather than two days as they are dependent on the tides. Bordeaux is lovely city. We hired a private wine guide for one day to visit two wineries and lunch and a walk around St. Emilion. You can't do much better thanks Seabourn's personal service, large suites and small ship atmosphere and port accessibility.

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St. Emillion is a an option for day 1. With an overnight, what do you suggest for day 2?

Depending on your budget, you may want to consider booking a wine tour (one day or both) with Dewey Markham. (See below) He is a wonderful guide for the region: knowledgeable about wine and delightful to spend time with. He'll tailor your tour to your preferences. My husband and I visited the Medoc region for one day with Dewey during a cruise which docked at Le Verdon. If you're docking in Bordeaux itself, you'll be considerably farther up the river into the heart of Bordeaux region and you'll be able to access different wine sub-regions of Bordeaux.

We asked for a day in which we could taste different styles and approaches to wine making. Dewey created a day that perfectly matched our wishes. We visited three wineries that were -- in his words -- "punching above their weight." That means the wine the winery is producing today is better than the winery's category from the 1850s so the price is more accessible. We also visited a winery that is making its wine using organic and ultra-technological methods. (The top, top, top First Cru labels don't accept visitors.)

My husband and I were the only two participants on our tour, by choice. But you could keep costs under control by forming a group on your roll call. You'll need to rent a car. Dewey will do the driving, but he doesn't use his own vehicle.

Dewey works with an American associate so all the transactions are handled in US dollars mailed to a US address.

http://dmjwineworks.com/

We'll be in Bordeaux in September and can't wait. We were there last year on a cruise and docked near the Borse. Since we walked and walked and walked that time, this time we decided to do some cheese tasting at several shops, hopefully they will have wine to pair with the cheese. We want to taste cheese that you can't get here. If we want further wine tasting we will to go Bar a Vin as it's close by where we dock. We've been to maybe 50 winery tours in the US and France, so those don't interest us anymore.

Will have lunch in Bordeaux, but we love to have dinner on the ship. Due to the tides, we sail at midnight.

This probably won't work for you, but for others who see Bordeaux on thread, just wanted to post that Viatours has several day trips to either St. Emilion or Medoc wine growing area (one tour will combine the 2 with a picnic lunch), Arcachon dunes and oyster tasting and other surrounding areas.

We're doing a Vantage Seine river cruise next August. Since they don't offer the Bordeaux pre-trip for our date, we're going to fly into Paris early, spend a night at a hotel near Gare Montparnese (in order to leave majority of our luggage), take the TGV (fast train) to Bordeaux for probably 3-4 nites, then back to Paris for a nite (to get our luggage) and then go to wherever our ship leaves. I might add that we speak French (altho' I haven't really spoken it in a couple of years).

Bon voyage!!

I think Viator is a good choice for private tours in many cities but not in Bordeaux. If you really want to do more than just drive to a Chateaux and taste a couple of wines( ie learn about what makes Bordeaux so special) much better to hire one of the guides who know the wine business in general and Bordeaux in particular inside and out. We hired such a person two years ago and went to two chateaus in Pomerol and St Emilion. For our trip this September we have hired him again to take us this time to the Medoc.

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Can you provide his contact info for the private tour in Bordeaux? Thanks!

daynaslandry@gmail.com

Our guide was Henri Challeau and his company is called Bordeaux Wine Travel.

Our guide was Henri Challeau and his company is called Bordeaux Wine Travel.

Appreciate this wonderful tip and suggestion. Will follow-up with Henri. Nice sharing from others, too. Bordeaux has move up from just being on our "wish-list" to being on the definitely-ahead schedule. In June 2017, we will be doing a cruising from Lisbon to Rouen for eleven days with lots of interesting and delightful stops in Portugal, Spain and France. Lots of food, history, wine and architecture potentials along this route. This includes two days in and around Bordeaux. In addition to doing a 15-day Panama Canal, Ft. Lauderdale to San Francisco cruise in late February, we are planning and preparing for our first visit to Portugal and these western areas of France. Keep up with the great sharing. Much enjoyed and very much of benefit.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

From our Jan. 25-Feb. 20, 2015, Amazon River-Caribbean combo sailing over 26 days that started in Barbados, here is the link below to that live/blog. Lots of great visuals from this amazing Brazil river and these various Caribbean Islands (Dutch ABC's, St. Barts, Dominica, Grenada, etc.) that we experienced. Check it out at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2157696

Now at 46,488 views for these postings.

We too had the good fortune of spending a day with Henri in May 2016. You won't go wrong with Henri. Hopefully you will be in Bordeaux overnight and if so be sure you get to see the water mirror.